Break the Bias: No One Should Have to Get Sicker to Be Seen

It’s been over 20 years since I was first diagnosed with an eating disorder. I still remember being told, in one way or another, that I wasn’t “sick enough” for help. That my weight wasn’t low enough. 

That was the first, but certainly not the last time I would experience the biases hidden in eating disorder care – hidden in guidelines, embedded in systems and even spoken aloud. And the message was clear: unless I got sicker (read, ‘thinner’, then I wouldn’t be eligible for much support).

So I got thinner, and sicker, and my eating disorder became more entrenched. 

It took a couple more years to access treatment. Years that didn’t need to be lost. 

Unfortunately, not much has changed. Across the UK, people still face eating disorder services shaped by a lack of resources, outdated measures, narrow definitions and sometimes even professionals who believe the stereotypes.  

I meet so many people who, even today, have similar experiences to the one I had. Others become deemed ‘too complex’ or branded as “non-engagers” when what they really need is a person-centred trauma-informed approach. The services themselves of course in deed of vast amounts of further funding if they are to offer this. 

I was one of the lucky few who was able to access private therapy, and I went on to fully recover… but without the correct support, and without access to the money for private care, many don’t. 

This is why I do what I do now. oday, I’m a therapist, educator, and researcher and I am also someone who will never forget how it felt to be turned away while struggling. I’ve committed my career to making eating disorder care more ethical, accessible, and inclusive—and to amplifying the voices of those still being ignored. We still have a long, long way to go. 

That’s why I’m supporting World Eating Disorder Action Day. Because it’s not enough to talk about bias—we have to name it, challenge it, and rebuild the systems that allow it to continue.

No one should have to get sicker to be taken seriously.
And no one should be left to recover alone.

Kel O’Neill Services Lead, Educator & TherapistCounselling, Training and Bespoke Services. Special interest in Eating Disorders

www.mentalhealthbites.co.uk

www.counsellingandtraining.co.uk